The journalism and entertainment world is still grieving the loss of female trailblazer and beloved TV news journalist Barbara Walters. The TV legend herself passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by friends and family at the age of 93 in December 2022. Although Walters officially turned off the cameras and put down her mic in May 2014 after retiring due to health complications, many of her most devoted fans figured she’d return to the spotlight for one more groundbreaking interview. Her legacy and memory lives on in the hearts of women in journalism all across the country and the world, inspiring and setting the stage for generations of female figures in media.
Barbara Walters was a Bostonian through-and-through, as the daughter of a Boston nightclub owner and theatrical impresario, Walter’s spent a large amount of her childhood interacting with celebrity personalities. This confidence and charisma with famous individuals proved to offer her a leg up in her career field as she remained unfazed while interviewing even the most high profile celebrities. Walters made her first television appearance on NBC’s the Today Show in the 1960s as a reporter for the “women’s stories” segment. By 1974 Barbara was officially named co-anchor of the Today Show before breaking the glass ceiling and joining ABC as the first woman to co-anchor a network evening newscast two years later.
Barbara Walters went on to launch multiple of her own specials including, The Barbara Walters Special, and 10 Most Fascinating People early on in her TV career. Most notably she became co-host and correspondent for ABC News’ 20/20 in 1984, bringing her career to a new level of achievement and fame. Throughout her extraordinary time on TV Walter’s would interview the world’s most influential actors, artists, political figures, and celebrities including every sitting US president and first lady since Richard and Pat Nixon, Barbara Streisand, Fidel Castro, Katharine Hepburn, Mike Tyson and Robin Givens, Monica Lewinsky, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, to name a few. Walter was a co-creator of the Emmy award winning talk show, The View which made its debut in 1997 and stole the hearts and attention of living rooms across the country for decades. For all of her groundbreaking achievements, Barbara received multiple Emmys, a Peabody award, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Barbara Walters will remain one of the most prominent and beloved figures in TV broadcasting history, setting the tone for women in journalism everywhere. “How proud when I see all the young women who are making and reporting the news. If I did anything to help make that happen, that is my legacy,” she said after making her final departure from The View in 2014, “From the bottom of my heart, to all of you with whom I have worked and who have watched and been by my side, I can say: “Thank you.”